Sunday, 19 February 2012

In recent months there has been considerable debate both in the media and in government, of university Islamic societies being "conveyor belts" for extremism and terrorism.

The Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS), the umbrella
organisation for student Islamic societies, has been particularly
singled out as an organisation which "are training the violent extremists of tomorrow."
Home Secretary, Theresa May, has also outlined her concerns for the
need to tackle extremism within University Islamic Societies.

Now let us look at the flip side of this argument, or as many of us
would like to put it, the reality of how these groups operate first of
all, and if violent extremism is really widespread in student Islamic
societies.

Established in 1963, FOSIS is a body that caters for the needs of
Muslim students in further and higher education across the UK and
Ireland. It aims to represent and serve Muslim students, unite all
existing student Islamic organisations in the United Kingdom and Ireland
and encourage and help in the formation of such organisations.

From charity functions to Islamic lectures to political debates,
FOSIS has an impressive track record of grassroots democracy, mainstream
activism and charity work throughout university campuses across the UK
and Ireland.

I've had the opportunity of attending a number of FOSIS events
including the FOSIS 2007 annual conference at the University of
Nottingham. I would far from say FOSIS is promoting extremism and
terrorism. I would emphasise that they play a vital role in combating
extremism with events such as 'Radical thinking - between extremes of freedom and security on campus'
held at the University College London (UCL) which discussed extremism
and attended by many individuals involved in fighting extremism in the
UK.

How could any of these events be close to ''training the future generation of violent extremists?"

Islamic societies, just like most other religious student societies,
exist to assist Muslim students balance their studies, religion and
social activities while at university.

During my time as a student at
the University of Birmingham, I attended many University of Birmingham
Islamic Society events ranging from political debates to spiritual talks
and sports events. It helped me as a student to meet other Muslims on
campus as well as have fun the 'Islamic' way. I was not 'radicalised' or
drawn into violent extremism.

While critics have claimed that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, also known
as the underwear bomber, who tried to detonate explosives while on
board a US airline, was radicalised at UCL' s Islamic Society, there has
been no evidence to indicate that was the case.

Anyone with knowledge on extremism and terrorism would know that many
studies have shown that radicalisation stems from a range of factors
and that no individual can be radicalised by one single method such as
watching YouTube videos or being exposed to extremist views. It is
therefore, premature to claim that the Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was
radicalised as a result of his involvement with UCL's Islamic Society.

Shaykh Haitham al-Haddad, an Islamic scholar who was scheduled to
speak at a London School of Economics Islamic Society event, sparked
controversy by critics who branded him as a 'hate preacher' and a
negative influence on Muslim students. However, he is the chair and
operations advisor for the Muslim Research and Development Foundation,
part of the Islamic Sharia Council and is known for his knowledge in
Islamic finance. He is labelled as 'controversial' but not a
'terrorist.'

University Islamic societies and groups like FOSIS are part of the
solution not the problem when it comes to fighting extremism. Even NUS
president, Aaron Porter issued a statement in response to Theresa May's accusations of FOSIS:

"Facing up to the challenges that non-violent extremism brings to
campus life requires careful support and guidance from government, not
wild sensationalism that only serves to unfairly demonise Muslim
students. In our experience, groups like FOSIS are part of the solution,
not the problem."

Instead of jumping to conclusions and labelling groups who are
playing a part in combating extremism as "terrorists", wouldn't a
dialogue with FOSIS be more productive or perhaps critics should
actually attend some of FOSIS's events to understand what student
Islamic societies are all about?

Published by Huffington Post UK
Copyright Reyhana Patel. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.

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About Me

Journalist, writer and researcher specialising in issues concerning Muslim communities, community cohesion, radicalisation and counter-terrorism policy
Contributes to the Huffington Post UK and the Independent and hosts a blog on combating extremism